Pygmalion's Sketchbook
by Anthrax Pretzels
Summary: [AU][Namine x Roxas] As Namine, Roxas, and Zexion journey to new worlds, New memories, abilities, and feelings are discovered from the sleeping hearts of Sora and Kairi.
1. White Walled Palace

((This is about Pre-COM in terms of timeline.))

-----------------------0-----------------------

All was silent, save the endless _skritch-scratch _of ink to paper.

Countless drawings and paintings, some framed, hung from the walls of the completely white room. Bent over the desk, the young woman occasionally paused over her work, and then continued, painstakingly inking in details, placing final touches on the portrait. Next color gave life to the sketch, the background and foreground working in harmony to prominently express the object of interest…

Naminé picked up the sketchpad, examining the piece whose muse had haunted her for months on end. The youth's eyes were stolid and impassive, as endless as the staircases of Castle Oblivion seemed to be at first glance He had a fair complexion, and his hair fanned out in short layered spikes. Months of work showed in the portrait of the young man, standing at the top of a bronze-colored clock tower. Light framed his face and clothing, as he sat watching the sun's ascension. The sky over the massive tower was between Night and morning: a rose-colored dawn.

She always had the time to draw in the cold, barren castle. The Organization's policy wasn't difficult to follow: they simply used her only when her memory-powers were needed. Her existence was rearranging and relinking the memories, the lives of those that were in the plans of the mysterious Order.

Carefully, the young Nobody tore the thin parchment from the pad, and pinned it to the wall. The painting was a splash of color in a sea of white, brightening the view of all that entered the room. Compared with her previous works, all landscapes of the sparse scenery that was Castle Oblivion, Naminé's recent work almost seemed to…comfort her. Her fingers brushed briefly against the paper face of the young man, almost as if the art itself would be her companion.

In the empty room, a cold wind blew in from the open window, unpinning Naminé's most recent work from the wall. As it fluttered to the floor, multi-colored sparks, like miniature fireworks, swirled around the watercolor. The sparks fanned out, creating a steady, glowing halo that engulfed both painting and room completely. Desperately Naminé tried to recover her painting, but couldn't make anything out in the blinding halo of light.

As the room's view finally returned to her vision, Naminé approached the painting warily, picking it up. The brilliant colors of sunrise still played upon the clock tower. However, one significant detail about the work had changed…

"Where…am I?" The youth from the painting stood, confused, on the white stone floor of the castle's highest level

----------------------0------------------------

The boy was never able to figure out how long he had been trapped in the frozen world. The time on the Clock Tower never changed, and the harsh winds chilled him to the bone. But…was it the coldness that hurt him? He wondered this, as he sat, unable to move. All he had ever known, since he first was placed into existence, was that he was alone. The tower was his niche and cage…Beyond the tower, there was nothing…

But one day (was it a day? There was no time in the frozen world…) something changed. The surface of the stone tower emitted a warm glow. He had never felt light's full warmth, being trapped in eternal twilight.

All he had ever known was silence, the only voice in his world that of his own unspoken one. But all of that changed in the time-span of one breath. He could no longer feel the stone of the tower beneath his feet; it had been replaced by colder marble flooring. In the brilliantly white room was a girl, seated.

"Where…am I?" His voice sounded strange, echoing into the empty corridors beyond the room's open door.

"Castle Oblivion…" Naminé answered, taken aback. It wasn't everyday that drawings came alive, or that wishes were granted…Was it all a dream? She reached for a colored pencil, and poked him in the shoulder.

"Ouch, what was that for?" He winced, rubbing his forearm in pain.

"You're…real?"

"Of course, what else would I be?" He answered bluntly.

"…nothing…" The drawing of the tower alone was quickly hidden away in her desk drawer. "Nothing at all…" Did he have a name? Naminé thought to herself. She suddenly remembered the painting's title. Despite her powers centering on memories, the young Nobody hadn't ever figured out the origins of his name. It simply was _there_…

Roxas

------------------------------0-----------------------------

Truth be told, Naminé herself never really left Castle Oblivion from the day that she appeared in one of its vast white rooms. Occasionally Marluxia let her wander the gardens, but she never knew what lay beyond the forked roads that could be seen from her window. One led to light, another to darkness, and the third led… to an unknown place.

One day, she imagined, she would get out of the castle and find what the middle road led to. However, she currently had a different matter to attend to.

In the few days since his birth, if it could be called a birth, Roxas had shown unnatural curiosity and a tendency to wander about the castle. Namine would always come with him on these excursions, but they had to be extremely careful, because anything could happen if Marluxia or Larxene found out about Roxas. She didn't wish to consider the consequences of such an encounter.

"You know," Roxas looked outside the window on a particular afternoon, where rain pattered the rooftops of the castle noisily. "One day, if we ever escape, I'd like to see what's beyond this place…"

Naminé said nothing, but peered over her sketch, nodding.

"You know, I bet there are even other…worlds outside of here. But if there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"

Her eyes widened at the casual comment. Naminé felt oddly nostalgic, her thoughts suddenly focusing on someplace far away, a sunny and familiar place on the seas…

"What's wrong?" Roxas waved his hand in front of her face. She promptly lost the vision of a tropical island. The elusive memory burrowed its way back into her mind…

----------------------------0-----------------------------

It had started as another of Roxas' simple expeditions of the castle's corridors. Naminé sat nearby, idly staring at the many carvings of flowers that adorned the castle walls. However, the sound of footsteps in the distance caused Roxas to scramble across the hall, hiding behind a large stone pillar.

Zexion was walking by, engrossed in a thick, leather-bound book. However, stairways and the long black coats that were the Organization's uniforms were not a good combination. The Cloaked Schemer suddenly stepped on the edge of the coat, and lost his balance. The spelled book that he carried fell to the floor with a _clack, _opening to a page depicting a map. Warily, Naminé edged away from it, since Zexion's books were never to be underestimated

However, it was already too late for the young Nobody. The map glowed purple with the experimental spell that Zexion had cast on it earlier. Strong winds whipped out, as the book soon was shredded by the swirling vortex created by the spell. Pages blew across the hall. Before Zexion or Naminé had time to react, they vanished into the abyss that was the map.

Confused and shocked, Roxas promptly leaped to is feet from his hiding spot behind one of many pillars that adorned the hallway. He shielded himself from the pages that flew about, flapping their paper wings like angered birds. Following his gut instinct, he leapt into the very center of the portal.

-------------------------------0---------------


	2. Fading Horizons

((Okay, so again, this is an AU. Totally not following game-canon, and pre-COM… ))

----------------------0----------------------

The place that they had landed in was frigidly cold and dimly lit by torches of blue fire. An air of mystery lingered in the vast caverns, and Roxas' mind was constantly wary of the unknown. He could hear something scuttling in the not-so-distant darkness that blanketed the cave.

"What's that noise?"

"Heartless," Zexion explained to the boy, impassively taking in their new surroundings. "By the looks of it, around a dozen more are closing in on us."

"Wait, you knew that he was in the castle?" Naminé piped up. "How did you…"

"His scent was distinct the moment he entered, though interestingly, I can't figure out how he suddenly appeared in your chambers." The Cloaked Schemer interrupted. Intrigued, the former scientist got to his feet, looking both the younger Nobodies in the eyes.

"But talk is for another time. Right now, there's someone else controlling the Heartless. We must either fight or escape."

"Can you use the Corridors of Darkness?" Naminé suggested pensively.

"Unfortunately, they're down for maintenance currently." Zexion sighed. "It seems that someone's made a mess of themselves in the Corridors. The last time I was informed, Dusks were scraping an assortment of… digestive leavings from them."

-----------------0--------------

Meanwhile, in the Castle that Never Was, Demyx was looking worse for the weather. His face was green, and he held an open bottle of ginger ale.

"Ugh…I should –not- have entered that Sea-salt-ice-cream-eating contest…" He groaned, and took a sip of the ginger ale. A Dancer Nobody entered his chamber, carrying a tray of Tums. It patted the Melodious Nocturne on the back in sympathy for his plight, a behavior that was almost motherly of the lesser Nobody.

------------0--------------

"We don't have time to sit on our hands and think!" Roxas cut in. "Look!"

Soldiers and Shadows emerged from a torch-lit arch nearby, writhing in anticipation to attack. "No time to escape," Zexion summoned his weapon of choice. "So we'll fight."

His lexicon was always an underestimated weapon; only the Gambler of Fate's cards could possibly seem less harmless. Few could imagine the plethora of threats that pages could hold. The book opened as the pages fanned out and scattered, snaring the Heartless and sealing them into the tome as images of ink. Zexion's face remained in deep concentration on the pages, which sought out and trapped all of the Heartless one by one.

As his book faded back into darkness, Zexion turned to Roxas and Naminé. Curious as he was about Roxas' origins, the best place to properly converse was hardly a dark cave crawling with Heartless. Their best bet was finding an exit first.

The paths of the cave were tricky to navigate. Some paths forked and twisted, leading to dead ends. At other places the ground seemed to be solid, but it was an illusion, leading to even deeper chasms. Everywhere they wandered, white misty souls of the dead clouded into spheres, adorning the walls of the caverns.

"How did we end up in this place anyway?" Naminé asked. Every chamber they had walked past seemed identical. They could easily have been walking in circles.

"I was testing out a spell on a book of Gummispace maps." Zexion calmly explained. "Ever since a recent disturbance, previously-opened pathways to worlds are closing up spontaneously. I'm not entirely sure whether or not this world's path is connected to the Castle. Who knows if even the Corridors of Darkness will reopen it for us?"

"Everything is connected, though. The worlds' pathways are not permanently sealed," She said serenely. "I don't understand why myself, but the other side of my heart is telling me."

"Preposterous," Zexion remarked with bluntness in his voice. "You're a Nobody, and lack a heart to tell you such things."

Both his younger companions stood silently before him, pondering the validity of the Cloaked Schemer's postulate with blank stares.

-----------------------------0--------------------------

The Heartless were a continuous nuisance throughout the caverns. Roxas wondered where they were all coming from, and wished that he had some way to fight it. Zexion was getting increasingly irritable.

"If the Heartless don't take our lives, Zexion will." Naminé observed, watching the infuriated researcher tear apart two dozen Heartless with razor-sharp pages.

At last they reached an atrium within the cave. At its center was a pool of luminous green water. At the opposite end of the room were two doors: one opening into a wide hallway and the other leading to a jagged, menacing stone passage. Out of instinct, the trio headed for the wider path.

At the end of the open hall was a staircase leading to a lighter world, out of the dark depths of the Underworld. The stairs seemed to shine with a golden glow, causing the three Nobodies to shield their eyes, unaccustomed to the light after several hours in the dark caves.

"Well, you've gotten your wish." Naminé breathlessly approached the staircase. "Strange new worlds are at our feet."

"I'm not alone, though…" Roxas corrected, beginning to ascend the stairs. He held out his hand to her. "We'll search for them together."

"And I am the one who will open the door," He intoned suddenly, as if in a trance. Inklings of memory spread throughout his mind like a drop of dye in water. Countless images of keys flashed past, unlocking worlds which lay at his fingertips. Friends and foes greeted him in each world, all pointing him to his final destination. What was the place that he truly longed for at journey's end?

"Teenagers," Zexion sighed boredly, paying little attention to the wonder and curiosity that both younger Nobodies conveyed. He had already seen the worlds in their supposed splendor, which was not very impressive and had helped to mold his present cynicism for the Gummiverse.

The grand pillars that supported Olympus Coliseum's entrance towered over them as they exited the long stairway from the Underworld. The entrance was abuzz with the excitement of a market day as many a civilian wandered about, waiting for particularly interesting matches to begin.

"Registration for the Theseus Cup is now open!" A short man with the hindquarters and horns of a goat announced from a nearby booth. Many older youths who had moments before been standing idly around the entrance to the Coliseum now eagerly approached the satyr, confidently eyeing the gleaming maze-shaped trophy.

"A tournament?" Roxas found himself approaching the table. The possible thrill of entering tempted him, as his mind considered the excitement of competition.

"I'd like to sign up, please." He asked as his turn came.

"You? Forget about it." Phil snorted, turning back to his registration papers. "Wait a minute." He suddenly averted his gaze to Roxas' face. "You look kinda' familiar…"

He suddenly shook his head, as if waking up from a nap. "Never mind, kid… But seriously, this tournament ain't some kid's game."

"Why can't I sign up?" Roxas looked disappointed.

"Three words," Phil held up fingers to count. "You. Ain't. A. Hero."

"But that was four words…" He weakly retorted. "Forget it… This is too much of a hassle." The boy's crestfallen blue eyes looked similar to that of another young man who recently was in a similar situation.

"I'm goin' soft…" mumbled Phil. "Fine, kid, you can enter the tournament."

"It's not 'kid'." The Nobody's expression brightened as his eyes shone with determination. "My name is Roxas."

---------------------------0-----------------------

"The main problem is, you don't have a weapon." Zexion frowned. "I'm not sure what you were thinking, just rushing to sign up for that tournament… It's no good rushing into combat completely unarmed… Like someone did once…"

----------------------------------0------------------------------------

_It was approximately three in the morning in the Castle that Never Was, and Vexen was bent over a desk, observing a bubbling test tube of gray liquid. His eyes were already red from exhaustion, but the Chilly Academic kept focused on the crucial compound that would mutate a Dusk Nobody to a shorter stature…_

_Since the Castle was very near the Realm of Darkness, Heartless had a habit of regularly sneaking into the castle. Usually the lesser Nobodies would take care of the intruders, but occasionally one or two would get past the sentries that guarded Naught's Skyway, the Brink of Disaster, and other possible entrances to the fortress._

_On the quiet early morning, a Shadow slipped inside Vexen's lab through an open window, gliding along the cold floor. The Academic paid no mind to it, still crouching over the desk, his eyes staring intently at the test tube. Suddenly he felt the weight of a cold, sharp claw on his shoulder. The Heartless clung to him, as he flailed about in vain trying to get it off. In his exhaustion he couldn't summon his shield or freeze the annoying small creature to death… In his feverous rage Vexen picked up a large heavy notebook nearby, and swung it at the Shadow._

_With a thwack the Heartless saw stars, and plunked onto the floor, unconscious. In its place, around three dozen more squirmed into the lab, pinning the distraught scientist to the floor. By the time Zexion noticed the commotion and banished the Heartless, Vexen was covered in bruises._

_-------------------------0--------------------------_

"That's…interesting…" Roxas raised an eyebrow, perplexed at the story. "I guess I'll need something to fight with…at least, better than a notebook…" Mentally, Roxas berated himself for being foolish to rush into things. What good was he in battle without a weapon?

------------------------------------0----------------------------------

Gradually, the sky of Olympus Coliseum turned to a dusky orange, as the sun crept down into the horizon. Shadows fell from the architecture, bathing the scenery in browns and reds. For a second, Roxas felt nostalgic, watching the Coliseum from a distance. He, Zexion, and Naminé had wandered out onto a grassy hill outside for some fresh air. The place suddenly seemed familiar to him, shifting to a town forever trapped between day and night. Goldenrod-colored buildings framed the setting sun, as the sound of a train could be heard in the distance. He reached out to the new place, which called to him. A second later, it had disappeared. The town was gone. Once again he stood at the entrance to the Coliseum, as lost and confused as he ever was.

"You look like you're somewhere else," commented Naminé, taking a seat next to the confused boy. "I can see it..."

"Somehow, I don't feel like I understand anything at all…" Roxas mused, sitting down and staring into his lap. "Just the fact that I need to keep going, that's all that I'm given…" Roxas glanced at Naminé, who was still looking up at the setting sun.

"That's just it, though," she smiled, as if he understood something. "Following the path of the other side of your heart will lead you… But where will it lead?" Naminé took her eyes off the sun to look at Roxas, and their gazes connected. For a moment she saw something…a familiar spark of indomitable courage in his eyes. It all seemed, again, familiar. She felt…home again.

Roxas blinked and broke the long silence. "We'll only know when we get there, I guess."

Both Nobodies reclined on the grass and looked up at the darkening sky as the first stars blinked into view. The warm wind blew across the soft grass, the stars illuminating the navy-colored sky. Naminé contemplated their journey silently, the worries in her mind endless.

"Roxas?" She turned to face him. However, the Nobody was asleep, fatigued by the day's nonstop travel. He was curled up comfortably in the grass, like a large cat. He had already changed from the muse, the soul and fire of her painting. He wasn't pristine, nor the prince on a white horse that Naminé had imagined, but…

She could trust him.

Gently, Naminé tucked a few strands of Roxas' hair that had fallen in his face back. In a precise and delicate manner, she settled herself into the grass and looked towards the endless valley of stars that adorned the midnight sky.

-----------------------------------------0---------------------

((There it is, my first attempt at…er..'fluff'… I'm going to prepare to get internet bricks thrown at me now. As always, constructive criticism is really appreciated…))


	3. Mysterious Findings

((This is so, so late… I am really, really sorry))

Absolute silence cloaked Olympus Coliseum as night settled. Morpheus, the god of dreams, made his way across the land. The only beings that fully resisted the lull of sleep were the Heartless, thriving in the darkness.

Zexion felt comfortable in the stillness, making his way across the sleeping Greek city. Scouting was this Nobody's specialty, as his indistinct appearance allowed him to blend easily into a crowded area. He was still unable to contact any other Organization members, and stuck with two other Nobodies of unknown alliances. Stopping in front of some large stone steps, the Cloaked Schemer tugged at Darkness, forming a portal at his fingers. However, it merely flickered briefly in front of him, and disappeared, too unstable to stay open.

Apparently, the Corridors were still inaccessible. He was stuck for the time being.

Acting in his best interest, Zexion had made himself an ally of Roxas and Naminé. He would have to keep up the façade that he was on their side, he mused. Making foes of children with the potential to destroying him was not an intelligent tactic.

In the distance, Zexion heard the _skritch-scratch_ of claws and feet on the stone and dirt paths of the city, as Heartless emerged to prey and scavenge on anything and everything they found.

They were the result of the Apprentices' foolish experiments. Red and black emblems glowed on the artificial Heartless, spreading across the city from their portals like disease.

It was foolish to contemplate experiments of the past, Zexion thought. His goal now was simply to keep both himself, and his companions alive. After all, higher Nobodies were hard to come by. The Organization needed as many 'resources' as possible, to attain Kingdom Hearts' power.

Softly, he chuckled to himself. Vexen and Lexaeus would be proud of his newest plans.

-----------------------------------0----------------------------

Naminé woke at dawn, walking to a quiet glade, near the hill that they surveyed the Coliseum from. Retrieving her sketchbook, she began to work. Larxene, Marluxia, and Zexion were possibly the only other Nobodies that knew of her talent at illusions. Idle, she had somehow twisted the memories of a few individuals by accident some time ago. Since then, Marluxia had been dead-set on finding a use for such powers. The mutiny against Xemnas that he had plotted had gained a new weapon.

The idea of it disgusted her. She was no tool, no weapon for manipulating hearts and memories on Marluxia's whim. However, it was made clear that disobedience would be fatal. Her own will had to be silenced for her own survival.

However, drawing held a magic of its own to the young witch. Art was an escape from the castle, to places where she could have adventures, journeys. She wasn't a pathetic little girl, held in a stark fortress. She could draw other places, far-away lands…

Would it all be meaningless now that she was starting her real journey into the world?

Snapping the sketchbook shut, Naminé headed down to the market, which was close to the Arena. Roxas was already gone, probably to ask for a rental weapon. They would meet up later, most likely. He had a match early in the first round. As for Zexion, he was probably scouting around for bits of information. She had never really understood why he always needed to know, well, whatever it was that he was preoccupied with knowing at the time.

"Oh, what an interesting little mortal, and so oddly dressed too…" A scratchy voice rang from a small, shunted-aside tent in a nearby alley. It was made of ragged, holed cloth, and unlike the numerous other stalls in the marketplace, bore no sign or plaque proclaiming its wares.

"They must be from a different world, then. We get a lot of fighters from all sorts of places. Now hand it _over_!" Another rushed and angry voice screeched from inside the tent, as furniture rattled, and a third voice joined the verbal fray. It was more than a little evident to Naminé that their dispute was over an object. Curious, she approached the small tent.

It was then that she realized that it was no ordinary booth. For one thing, the alleyway was far more distant from the marketplace at the Coliseum entrance than she had imagined. The alley was instead down a twisted path, closer to the dark chambers, the Underworld that they had first emerged from when arriving in that world.

Gingerly, she lifted the canvas flap of the tent. It was strange, as she heard the outside chattering of civilians in Olympus' Market, as if it were right outside the tent. The tent itself was spliced between the upper and lower halves of the world, present in both. Its interior was dim, illuminated only by three oil lamps at a table, where three cloaked figures sat.

Naminé recoiled, taking a few steps back at what she saw. The old women, or so she guessed from their voices, were sharing a single eye, red and glowing in the lamplight. Their faces and hands were gnarled, and their hair wiry and oily. They sat, spinning what looked like fine, silken string.

The first delicately formed the string with her wheel, passing through the spindle so narrow that Naminé doubted she could draw such a thin line with her smallest of brushes. The second measured the length of the string meticulously, and the last old woman cut each string according to its precise length with a pair of wickedly-sharp scissors. It was the last hag that wore the eye, which spun rapidly in its socket, focusing on the memory-witch.

Flinching and reeling away from the tent, Naminé was stopped by the tallest crone's voice. "Halt." Fearing for her life, she turned around to once again gaze upon the table. All three continued to meticulously spin, measure, and cut threads, occasionally stopping to pass the red, slimy eyeball.

"I'm…I'm sorry." She stammered an apology quietly. "I thought this was a shop in the marketplace, and…"

"That's alright, dearie, we're hidden from ordinary mortals," One of the Fates cackled.

"Hades is going to have our hides for this," her cynical, more jaded sounding sister muttered, taking the eye from her shorter sister, and popping it in with a nasty-sounding _squelch_. "Mortals running about the territory of the Fates…" She glanced at Naminé with a cold expression on her face.

"Definitely not of this world, she's not. Still, I believe that this little witch here…" She pointed at the girl, "has a very interesting journey waiting ahead… Her creation, too…"

Scared and confused, Naminé fled from the tent, breathing heavily back in the entrance to the Coliseum.

"Where were you?" Roxas looked a bit nervous, staring warily at the growing crowd. "I'm going to start my match soon. Zexion's not here either. I haven't seen him since yesterday. As for something to fight with…"

He held out a strange, sturdy-looking bright blue bat of some sort. "It was all Phil could find, he had no idea where it came from. Looks like some kind of sports equipment, huh?" Roxas gripped the bat, swinging it at air for a bit.

It felt strange to her to see him out in the world, finding new things. Was he intended to be this way, in her lonely, wishful mind? After spending her life locked up in a castle, did Roxas' curiosity naturally become an ideal to her, because she could never be free? Naminé couldn't discern it anymore. The illusions of her blind wishes now clashed with reality. She now stood at the crossroads, bearing the weight of what she had done. What Roxas didn't know wouldn't hurt him… He was happier not knowing that he was the creation of an idle wish. They were all better off this way…

"Let's go." Roxas' hand on hers as he led her into the Coliseum interrupted Naminé's thoughts, a clouded reverie brewing in her mind. What more could be appropriate for the calm before the storm?

----------------------------

((Any comments? Thoughts? Flames? Leave a review and I'll reply ASAP. -scurries off to write next chapter- ))


	4. New Paths

The crowd grew silent as Roxas entered the arena. The Coliseum regularly got newcomers, and usually the youths that headed straight for the tournaments were quickly defeated, the smug grins on their faces wiped clean by the 'ringers' of Olympus Coliseum. It was the luck of the draw that determined the opponent that the young Nobody would face. He held the bat tightly, as if it was the only thing standing between standing on his feet and getting knocked face-first into the dirt.

Three Red Nocturne Heartless and five Shadows emerged from the Darkness. Small, bright sparks flew from the heads of the Nocturnes, who prepared to bombard Roxas with fireballs. However, the Heartless' opponent charged in and attacked like a seasoned fighter, aiming the bat at the Shadows. It struck one, which limped off to the side, slightly damaged by the blow.

"He's going to need something stronger to fight Heartless…" Zexion remarked casually, entering the Coliseum and seating himself next to Naminé in the stands. The boy obviously had innate skills in combat, adroitly dodging fireballs and lunging strikes from Shadows and Nocturnes. Zexion wondered for a bit about Roxas' Other.

The Cloaked Schemer mused on, ideas and theories churning in his ever-working mind. Vexen and Lexaeus would be getting an extensive report on the behaviors and his observations of the strange new Nobody.

With a loud _Thwack, _two Shadows teamed up on Roxas, knocking the bat out of his hand. Unarmed, he concentrated more on dodging, moving nimbly on his feet. Grabbing a Red Nocturne that was about to fire a spell, he turned it, aiming it at a Shadow. It was incinerated by the magical fire, and a lone pink heart floated out of the Coliseum.

It was evident that even taking out one Heartless took a lot of stamina from Roxas. Skilled as he was, the match was his first fight. With seven more foes, his two companions wondered how long he could keep fighting.

Naminé made no verbal response, but remained seated, head bent down over her sketchbook, feverishly working something new into Roxas' memories. She had seen the weapon while riffling through Phil's recollections of past fighters, wielded by another young man who could defeat the Heartless he was set against with relative ease. If she could get the weapon to Roxas, then maybe, just maybe, all was not lost. It was something unprecedented and risky, but she had nothing to lose. Therefore, Naminé concluded, finishing the details of the weapon's chain, she had no reason to hold back. She hid into the shadow of a nearby pillar, afraid of the consequences should she fail.

Roxas was slowing down. The Heartless simply overpowered him with their number and power; they were armed, and he was not. Kicks and punches quickly proved to be ineffective. Shadows merely sank into Darkness to dodge them, and the Nocturnes floated beyond reach. Glancing around the Coliseum, Roxas found only one pair of eyes that seemed to hold hope for him. With a fierce nod of determination and understanding, he turned his back, his will to fight renewed.

In one smooth, fluid motion, a strange new weapon appeared in his hands in a flash of light. It felt cool and metallic, but light and maneuverable. A silvery ornament dangled from a chain at the handle of the weapon. Roxas instantly felt comfortable with the unusual-looking blade, and in his mind, something clicked. He knew exactly what it was.

_Keyblade…_

Stars flew as blow by blow dealt by the Keyblade hit their marks, immediately taking out two Nocturnes. As Roxas got back on his feet and began quickly demolishing the rest of the Heartless, Zexion's attention immediately focused on the new weapon. The last time he had seen it, he was an apprentice with Ansem the Wise. Yes, the Keyblade was wielded by the mysterious mouse-king that had visited the ruler of Radiant Garden.

Ienzo doubted its existence, a weapon of mere myths that Braig told the younger children of the castle. It wasn't until Ansem's youngest apprentice saw it himself that he acknowledged its existence and power. Even as a novice scientist, Ienzo could tell that the weapon King Mickey carried was out of the ordinary. But the real question was: how did Roxas get a hold of the Keyblade?

Surely…

He paused, remembering something that Xemnas had mentioned. Another Keyblade had emerged recently, in the hands of a child fighting alongside vassals of the King, defeating Heartless in many Worlds. The King, the child, and now Roxas… The Cloaked Schemer had no doubts that all three were connected.

It was over in a matter of minutes. The Heartless were no match against the quick but heavy blows of the Kingdom Key. In showers of golden stars and sparks, they faded away, one by one, only to leave a multitude of pink translucent hearts floating to the sky.

Phil announced the results of the match, and the crowd gave a cheer for the rookie competitor. Finished with its task, the Keyblade disappeared from Roxas' hand, but he felt its presence near him, a fresh instinct that drew him taut like a bowstring, ready to fight at a second's notice.

As Roxas retreated back to the stands to relax and watch a few more matches before the day ended, he noticed Naminé, tucked near a pillar, looking with feigned interest at the stone floor. A worrisome look was etched across her brow as she traced small designs with her fingers into the marble. She seemed to put a lot of effort into looking away from the stands, where the next fighters were being led in.

"Why do you look so scared? I thought that you'd feel safer after leaving that castle… That place was like a cage… I could feel it too." Roxas tapped his chest. "It's a horrible thing, being trapped…"

"It's not a cage anymore, but I'm worried… What if something happens to Zexion, you or me? I'd never recover if I lost…" She trailed off, glancing away from Roxas.

"Then we'll make a promise." Roxas sat himself down on the opposite side of the pillar. "We can work together, to protect each other. Each of us has strength within us, and in the end… if one of us falls, we'll fall together fighting the same battle… then it won't be lonely, whatever the next life is."

"I'll fight."

Naminé leaned over, and reached out her hand. A brief look of determination flickered across her face as they shook hands, sealing the pact between the girl born from Nothingness, and the boy born from Ink. Breaking free of the castle meant that she could be the person she'd dreamed of: brave, confident, and strong.

From a nearby seat, Zexion watched them discreetly agree to something. It was obvious that they would keep whatever had just gone on to themselves, from him. Not concerned in the least, the Cloaked Schemer knew that he could get whatever information he needed. After all, gathering and handling information was a specialty of his. Even Marluxia recognized this fact, allowing the Sixth Apprentice to manage handling reports the Dusks brought in regularly.

Personally, Zexion thought that Marluxia was simply lazy, forcing him to spend time on idle processing of mundane the goings-on of the World that Never Was, instead of actually performing useful research with the Castle's new atmosphere.

Under Xemnas's leadership, he had been able to produce various lengthy stacks of reports, experimenting with Heartless in various Worlds. The unplanned escape from the Castle, to him, was refreshing. Once again, he could work freely without the nuisance that was the Graceful Assassin.

All of his previous grievances, Zexion added, had not yet even accounted for the fact that Marluxia wanted the Organization for himself.

Finished musing, he stepped from the seat to join his two companions. "Finished with these simple games? I was working with the map-book for a while, and it seems that we can find pathways to different worlds, despite the seals that are on the standard passageways. These very seals were made fairly recently by a young man wielding the Keyblade." He stopped, emphasizing the weapon's name.

Interestingly, reports identified the Keyblade wielder's name as Sora. Zexion silently looked upon Roxas, who didn't seem to make any connections, as expected.

However, the Cloaked Schemer had instantly started to make connections between Sora and Roxas, and hypothesizing Naminé's role in all of this. Since they were keeping something from him, there must've been something that she would want to keep from him… What that was, they would find out in the next world.

"We're leaving this world now, since these passageways in the maps tend to open and close as they please."

"But what about finishing the tournament?" Roxas inquired.

"What about it?" Zexion's gaze was fixed upon the open book. "We cannot stay until whenever we please. As I've said, the passageways in this book are unpredictable. Think of us, momentarily, as players in a game. It controls us, and not the opposite way around. For the time being, until I can once again utilize portals, the book dictates where we go. Any further questions?" He glanced with a sardonic expression upon the two Nobodies.

"We'll follow you." Naminé answered, clutching her sketchbook to her chest. "It looks like we don't have a choice, Roxas." She smiled sadly. "If we ever come back, though, I'll be sure to cheer you on in the tournaments…"

The book in Zexion's hands fluttered open to another page, pieces of paper flying out wildly like birds fleeing from the eye of a storm. In mere seconds, they were gone in a hurricane of pages, leaving only scraps of paper behind.

"Hey, where'd that kid go?" Phil muttered, walking in. "It's impossible! He just vanished into thin air, or somethin'! Wait until I tell Herc about this…" The satyr ran from the room in a patter of hooves, until silence was all that was left in the empty lobby.


	5. Silent Rose

((Yes, I know I'm bad at updating in a timely manner. Sorry about that. As usual, feel free to leave a review if I actually did a good job, or there's something you really want to complain about.))

----------------------------------

As they landed, the book of maps went cold and lifeless, sapped of its sudden strength and lying still in Zexion's hand. He tucked the volume away, along with his Lexicon, keeping them ready for when they might be needed. He had missed the endless possibilities of research, the myriad of possible paths at his fingertips. Now, his task was to scout about, to find and research whatever new hearts lurked in the recesses of the sealed worlds.

Both of Zexion's companions, having survived yet another path of paper, stood by his side checking the surroundings. This new location was much darker than the open streets of Olympus Coliseum, and they were indoors this time, in the halls of a great Castle. Ornate candles mounted on the walls illuminated the dim corridors. Soft white moonlight poured in through open windows framed by lavish-looking curtains. It was obvious that whoever owned the Castle was of affluence and high status in the World. However, as they traversed an empty ballroom and the vast foyer, the castle began to seem strangely lonely. Neither the Master of the Castle nor even a servant could be seen.

They wandered the castle, careful not to disturb too many things, and were generally as silent as mice. Naminé opened a china cabinet in the dining room, examining a small teacup by the handle. She jumped aside when it twitched, turned around to reveal a small face, and hopped out of her hand.

"Hey, I was asleep!" The teacup spoke with a child's voice, and then stopped, looking upon the stranger's face. It looked frightful for a moment, yelped "Mama!" and bounced back into the china cupboard.

Zexion's eyes widened as he summoned a notebook, and started to take down observations for a new research paper that had just come to his mind. Incredible! The world's technology or magic had to have been truly advanced, to have these mundane objects capable of speech, and free movement… The only other phenomenon of this type that had been documented previously was an anecdote from the Mouse-King, who spoke of brooms that could grow appendages, to carry about things at the will of a magician. The Cloaked Schemer smiled to himself. He could find out a lot more from working in the field than stuck in a castle, babysitting Marluxia under Xemnas' orders, any day.

"What's the matter, Chip?" A motherly-looking teapot poked its head out of the cupboard, and hopped out. "My goodness, guests at this hour? Why, did the Master let you in?"

"Actually, it is him that we wish to seek an audience with." Working as an apprentice for a scientist-king had refined Ienzo's manners. Zexion, who had previously never had much use for etiquette, now found the knowledge to be extremely useful.

"I'm afraid that he's locked himself in his chambers this late in the night…" Mrs. Potts frowned. "But there might be someone who can help you see him in the morning… Follow me." With a clatter, she hopped down from the China Cabinet, and started towards the East Wing of the castle.

"How'd that teacup…and that teapot…" Roxas finally spoke.

"One can never stop learning…" Zexion muttered quickly, not looking up from his notes. They sidestepped past a few gangly-looking suits of armor, down a long hallway filled with chests, mirrors, and chandeliers, finally arriving at the entrance of a room. Unfortunately, the Cloaked Schemer was not as attentive to the hallway as Roxas and Naminé. Paying a little too much attention to his brand-new research finding and their implications, Zexion promptly tripped over a stately-looking suit of armor while turning a corner, falling inelegantly to the floor with a loud clatter. The armor's helmet flew up in the air for a few moments, and landed on the Nobody's head.

"…Not. A. Word." He muttered, replacing the visor while Naminé kept a small giggle to herself.

"It's lucky that we haven't been attacked…" Mrs. Potts remarked, turning around. "The Castle's been filling up with all sorts of Heartless lately. The Master needs to be more careful." She tapped the door lightly with her spout.

"Mrs. Potts?" A young brunette woman about Ienzo's age opened the bedroom door, dressed in a blue gown with a white apron, and holding a thick, green-bound book in one hand.

"Belle, a few lost guests wanted some assistance in finding a place to rest here " The teapot curtseyed, an odd-looking image in Zexion's opinion. It was most likely one of the castle's servants, but as for the girl…

She definitely had a strong heart, and a remarkably pure one at that. The Nobody wasn't sure when he had last seen someone with a heart of such high purity, save the little red-haired princess of Radiant Garden. However, her name escaped him at that moment. No matter. It wasn't of particular relevance now.

"How can I help?" Belle was looking curiously at the castle's new guests. They didn't seem harmful to her, but to confront the Beast was another story entirely. It was difficult to gain his trust, but a gut instinct connected her to these people, particularly the strange looking girl and boy. Where had she seen them last…? Vague encounters in a looming castle where a dark witch rose to power came to mind.

Naminé spoke, her voice quiet and polite. "We need some help finding a safe place, for now. There's something that we can't control keeping us far away from home, and…"

"Any aid you can offer us would be greatly appreciated." Zexion finished concisely, giving a knowing look to the younger Nobodies. Apparently, he intended to handle the negotiations alone. Roxas rolled his eyes before following Naminé out of the room silently.

"As a traveling scholar, I would like to inquire about any information you may have on this castle."

Unfortunately, the knowledge Belle had of the castle was not much more than the Cloaked Schemer could have found out alone. However, to Zexion's annoyance, the girl quickly took to pressing questions about what exact studies that this 'scholar' was conducting.

"What area of study? Well…" Zexion trailed off, and paused for a moment. Her question had caught him off-guard.

"I work in the field of Xenotaxonomy, of course." The words were said a little too quickly to be natural.

"Ah, classifying new species! It's quite a respectable study field, sir!" Belle beamed. Zexion blinked, in disbelief that what he had assumed to be a simple country girl actually had any idea what xenotaxonomy was. _Only a single university in any world that I've ever checked offers a course in it…so how?_

After a few moments, a puzzled look appeared on Belle's face. "You know…I'm getting the suspicion that…" She hesitated.

"What, exactly…?"

"That I might've found some sort of…_creature_ that I've never seen before in this castle, or anywhere else, for that matter. I haven't even found any descriptions of it in a book yet…Despite the rather expansive library housed here."

Expansive library…He would have to pay a visit later. "Is there anything you noticed about this creature? What was its appearance?"

"Well, it was white or grey in color, the average size of a large dog, I would assume. The creature tended to move in a…writhing motion when it walked about. However, as soon as I turned the corner, it was gone…"

Given that description, Zexion was pretty sure what the creatures were. Dusks showing up in the castle could mean only one thing: another member of the Organization had set their sights on it. He would have to temporarily head out to report soon.

Once he had an opportunity to start towards the library, Zexion quickly tested the portals through Betwixt and Between. To his pleasant surprise, they were working once more; evidently, Demyx's gastric fluids, along with some half-digested clam chowder, had been successfully removed by the Dusks after extensive work. Without a second though, Zexion transported himself away from the castle. However, in his haste, he left the book of maps lying on the corridor floor, forgotten.

"I wonder what kind of man the master of this castle is…" Naminé stepped lightly and carefully across the halls of the darkened, empty Ballroom. "He must've loved these gardens..." She stopped near an open balcony, peering down at the hedges that were filled with red roses…

"Yeah, but it's just as dark in here as it was outside…" Roxas wiped an index finger across a nearby table, drawing up a thin layer of dust. "It doesn't seem like he used this room recently, either."

"That's a shame. Maybe he's lonely, or couldn't dance any longer, or-"

She was cut off by three portals from the darkness, from which two writhing Dusks and a figure wearing a cloak similar to Zexion's appeared. Instinctively, the Nobody backed away with her eyes widened and looking considerably paler.

"My, it seems the little witch has fled her tower, and led quite a lively chase…" The figure drew an elegant, but wickedly sharp scythe from a shower of crimson flower petals, and removed his hood.

"…Time to go home, Naminé. Your hero's come to save you. But what good is it if the princess is in another castle?"

That was him, wasn't it? He remembered her living in fear at Castle Oblivion. Surely this man was the source of her nightmares. Narrowing his eyes, Roxas stepped protectively in front of her.

Naminé stood her ground. She wouldn't go back after getting a taste of freedom.

"I'm afraid that wasn't a request." Marluxia was gone in the blink of an eye, but reappeared, holding the scythe to Naminé's neck. "Come along quietly, and I won't hurt your little sketch at all…"

"You'll let her go_. Now_…" In a flash of golden stars, the Keyblade appeared in his hand.

Marluxia's mouth twitched into a wry grin. "Interesting…I was mistaken after all. You've found a hero of your own right here…"

Roxas faced him defiantly, the Kingdom Key in his grip and determination in his gaze. He seemed exactly like the boy that Marluxia was waiting for, and received in Castle Oblivion. However, the Graceful Assassin knew that the boy that stood before him was nothing but a cast-off, a creation of paper and ink living on Naminé's illusion-magic, with no connections to Sora whatsoever. Of course, it wasn't likely that they were alone. The last time there had been a disturbance in the Castle's computer system, Zexion had completely vanished as well as the memory-witch. Betwixt and Between's maintenance time was just a bit of luck that the scientist had run into. Whenever he would meet the Cloaked Schemer again, Marluxia made a note to…reprimand him.

It didn't matter to Marluxia, however things went. His plans would succeed, and Xemnas would be rendered powerless in no time.

"Very well, then. A skirmish, it is."

He leveled his scythe, and swung the weapon, only to be blocked by the blade. Roxas wasn't entirely sure how strong the Keyblade's metal was, as he crossed blades with the Graceful Assassin. Eventually the more experienced Nobody broke free of the deadlocked weapons, teleporting behind Roxas to gain the advantage of surprise.

With a sharp _clang, _Roxas once again blocked the scythe strike with the Keyblade, backing up to a distance from his foe.

"What's all this noise?!" growled a voice from outside the ballroom, as the heavy wooden doors burst open. The Beast, to say the least, did not appear to be too pleased that two strangers were battling with their all in _his_ castle.

"GET OUT!" He roared at Marluxia, leaping forward with great speed and strength. However, the Nobody was far more agile than the cursed man, and sprang aside nimbly without so much as flinching.

"I suppose I haven't the heart to fight one-on-two." The scythe disappeared between Marluxia's fingers as he sidestepped another strike.

The cool metal of Roxas' Keyblade against his throat, however, was an unwelcome and unexpected feeling. "He said to get out. I suggest you listen." The boy deadpanned, nothing short of a veteran battler's gaze in his eyes.

"My mistake, then…"

"It's Roxas." The Kingdom Key had not moved.

"Roxas…Naturally a fit name for you… Zexion may not be as much of a fool as I had suspected… Perhaps you are of interest to the Organization after all…"

In a swirl of Darkness, Marluxia was gone from the room, only leaving rose petals strewn across the empty ballroom floor. Naminé, who had been watching tensely and silently, breathed a sigh of relief. Marluxia was gone, at least for the time being.

It was then that she noticed the Beast, who was looking particularly tired. He glanced at Roxas for a moment, and seemed to understand something upon seeing the Graceful Assassin's petals strewn over the marble flooring.

There was a distinct look of pain in his eyes, as if he was slowly drowning; as if time itself was running out for him grain by grain like the sand in an hourglass. He looked once again at the children that stood before him, and found himself feeling as if he had seen them before, particularly the boy. The Beast was sure that they had fought alongside each other in the past. However, there was something decidedly strange…

"Sir, are you…alright?" Despite his…strange appearance, Naminé felt that the man was safer to approach than Marluxia or Axel would ever be. After all, he was still in possession of a heart, while the latter had no hindrances to the capabilities of their ruthlessness.

The Beast only wordlessly stood, resumed his usual grumpy demeanor, and walked out of the ballroom, muttering something about there "not being enough time left" and "rose petals." Was he talking about Marluxia? Why had he not addressed them at all, despite being rather…unwelcoming to intruders?

Somehow, Naminé knew that just like in Castle Oblivion, mysteries lay hidden in this castle as well.

----------------


	6. Curiosity's Folly

Many things were on Zexion's mind as he ascended a pale, translucent walkway that stretched from the floor of the Dark City into the main fortress of the World that Never Was. Of course, he was perfectly prepared to present the idea that he needed to get approved. Xemnas would surely find the plan of manipulating the two young Nobodies for the use of the Organization very intriguing.

He located Xemnas at the Alter of Naught, gazing pensively at the massive and magnificent artificial moon that shone its pale rays upon the Dark City below.

"If I may have a moment of your time, Superior?"

"Certainly, Zexion. I trust this is about something that would prove useful to the Organization's current tactics." The Superior turned, facing the Cloaked Schemer with a dusky yellow gaze; the eerie calmness within those eyes could inspire fear in those with hearts far more easily than the fiercest of glares.

"That's exactly the purpose of my reports, sir. You see, we've located quite an unlikely ally in the girl that we acquired who was, until lately, being used in the Castle Oblivion plan, but…"

"I can't help but feel like since this is an old castle, it might be hiding something." Roxas strolled through a magnificent hall lit with golden chandeliers in the castle's West Wing, occasionally pausing to check something. An odd shine in a suit of armor, a small crack in the walls nearby…Anything that could prove of interest, but had escaped the naked eye's first glance. Naminé trailed behind him, occasionally pausing for a few moments to sketch something of interest.

"Why do you think he's so sad…and looks like that…?"

"The Beast...? I'm not sure why he was acting so weird. Maybe it's something to do with that 'rose'…" Roxas was suddenly distracted as a small Heartless scurried out from behind a suit of armor. He summoned the Kingdom Key, only to pause for a moment.

"What the-"

"Oh, it's adorable…" Naminé smiled. The Heartless had the appearance of a gumball machine. "And it's not attacking us… Hold on, I think it's safe. I saw a picture of this Heartless in one of Vexen's Bestiaries…"

While Roxas watched apprehensively, she turned the small metal knob on below the face of the Bulky Vendor. With a small clatter, a crystal slid out amongst a small handful of colorful-looking candies that poured neatly into the female Nobody's hand. The Heartless rustled a bit, and waddled away on its square feet.

Something about the crystal seemed strange…

"What's that? It looks like some kind of gem…Can I have a look at it?" He approached Naminé, who was examining the strange 'candy' with interest.

The crystal was spherical, and a deep blue in color. Light from the chandeliers above where they stood, in one of the few fully lit hallways, shone through its facets. For a moment, through the gold-colored light, Roxas could see something in the crystal; it was a town, bathed in the colors of sunset and sunrise, neither fully lit as day or as dim as night…

He felt oddly warm, holding the crystal sphere in his hands. The picture-town, even though he only remembered coldness there, seemed like home. All of a sudden, he pictured faces that he had never remembered before. Promises made, friendships kept…For a moment, he smiled, and then-

Then it occurred to him that it had never actually happened.

Sighing, he handed the crystal back to Naminé.

"No, you keep it." Her face was serious as she held the blue sphere out. "This seems like it's important to you. And besides…" She grinned.

"It may bring you a bit of luck. We seem to be constantly on our feet against the heartless."

He smiled a little sheepishly, tucking the sphere into his pocket.

**My fears.My Lies. My fears.****My fears.My Lies.****My fears.My Lies.**

"So much for your little plan of luring the Keybearer here," Larxene giggled, skewering a few targets with her knives, and then jumping back with her great speed to inspect her handiwork on what was left of the miserable-looking pieces of wood.

"Well, they say the best-made plans can still go awry." Marluxia lounged against one of the room's couches, perusing a book. "Not that reading any of that sadist junk would teach you such a saying…"

"So what's your plan now? You're just going to let Xemnas keep running the Organization?" The Savage Nymph laughed, slicing the remnants of the targets into pieces. "I'm rather disappointed with how things have turned out…In fact; I feel a bit…_bored_ right now."

"You _could_ always content yourself with taking out your frustration on Naminé's new toy." Marluxia grinned, leafing through a page. "He's quite a fighter, despite his appearances."

"You don't say." Larxene re-summoned her kunai, examining the fine points of the yellow knives, which seemed to fade into nothingness. "Maybe I can give her hero a little reality check…and maybe a bruised ego, too…"

**My fears.My Lies.****My fears.My Lies.****My fears.My Lies.****My fears.My Lies.**

Fear of being alone, Naminé realized, was something that they had in common. She could see the uncomfortable numbness in Roxas as he pictured the empty clock tower, which had been reflected in the Beast's eyes as he stared straight at the glass-encased rose.

He had someone to protect, and if that one person was to be gone…

He would never forgive himself for not fighting until the end for their sake.

The room she sat in was relatively plain, but comfortable. Seeing as the Beast had failed to dissent after their last meeting, Mrs. Potts had arranged two rooms for her and Roxas. However, something troubled her: the fact that Zexion had managed to completely disappear after they had arrived in this world. It was particularly strange how they had never run into him while exploring the castle, despite its size.

However, Naminé's curiosity was soon overshadowed as Chip ran into her room, shouting about a strange woman bursting into the Castle Library.

Roxas felt his blood run cold as he faced the woman who appeared from nowhere, who summoned lightning strikes without so much as lifting a finger. To make matters worse, her speed was impossible to match as she disappeared in the blink of an eye, and reappeared right next to him with a cruel grin on her face.

"It was Marluxia that played with you last time, wasn't it?" Sparks ran across six needle-sharp knives in the woman's hands.

"He tends to enjoy testing, doesn't he?" Larxene giggled with a high, shrill laugh.

"Unfortunately for you, I don't enjoy dawdling in a fight…" As the Savage Nymph finished speaking, her face twisted into a snarl. She lunged forward and delivered a strike before Roxas could even focus on the Keyblade in his mind. The boy flew back, hitting a shelf of books that fell to the floor with a series of loud thumps behind him.

"We're not your toys," Roxas growled, using the Kingdom Key to push aside a few tomes,gripping the Keyblade so tightly that his knuckles paled. "You've got no right to treat us so…"

"Heartlessly?" Larxene suggested, laughing again.

"Oh, but I've got every right to, boy…"

((And that's the end of chapter 6. Please read and review to tell me what you thought ))


	7. Separate Ways

((Just a note: due to 's divider issue, I'll just use random-y KH quotes for them, in bold. Is that okay? Any other suggestions you want to give? The review box is just at the bottom of this page))

**-Looks like my summer vacation's…over…-**

Naminé hurried down the hall of the Castle, rushing past the axe- and sword-wielding Heartless that burst from the statues. The West Wing hadn't seemed like such a long path when she had explored it with Roxas earlier. Every twist and turn of the hallway seemed like another turn in the maze. For a moment, it seemed like…

No. Oblivion was beyond the horizon for her. Marluxia could never take them back.

By the time Naminé stopped with a skid at the heavy ballroom doors, she could already hear the sharp, high clangs of metal against metal from behind them. After taking a split second to catch her breath, she pushed the door open, and found herself looking in on a gruesome battle raging in front of her eyes.

Sparks of lightning ran down Larxene's body as she shot countless, razor-sharp knives at Roxas, her face twisted into a pitiless image of sadism. Whenever the boy got close enough for close combat with his Keyblade, the Savage Nymph proved herself to be just as capable at melee fighting as she was from a distance. Before Roxas could even hit her, she had already struck three or four times with the knives, leaving bleeding cuts on the younger Nobody's shoulder. Almost immediately he sunk to the floor, the effects of Larxene's deadly accuracy beginning to take their toll.

"Stop!" Naminé reached out towards where Roxas had crumpled to the ground, covered in the injuries that had been dealt to him mere moments ago. But before she could even blink, Larxene teleported into her way, blocking her view of Roxas, who was struggling to get back up, groaning.

"Well, if it isn't Marluxia's little witch herself…" The knives vanished, but Naminé knew that the cease-fire wouldn't last long.

"You're quite enjoying the fine mess you've caused, hm?" Larxene smiled, surveying Roxas, still lying motionless on the ballroom floor. "Unfortunately, the hero can't save his princess in this story."

Her knives re-appeared in her hands, and a deadly gaze onto her face.

"In fact, if you weren't so necessary to our plans, Naminé, there wouldn't be a princess to this story at all…Or a hero, for that matter…"

Larxene vanished again, appearing next to Roxas with a knife at his neck.

Naminé's breath quickened like that of a frozen rabbit caught in the gaze of a starving wolf.

"GET OUT!!"

Never had the memory-witch been so relieved to hear the Beast's enraged howl, slamming the doors of the ballroom open, aiming his claws towards where the Savage Nymph had stood, focused more on Roxas than any sudden intruders. Although the Beast was much slower than Larxene, he had miraculously lunged right when she teleported, and ended up pile-driving the much smaller woman into a stone pillar.

The Nobody was furious as she rose from the rubble, with crackling lightning running down and across her knives.

"Looks like Marluxia wasn't completely wrong…" Larxene scoffed, her expression of outraged hatred swiftly shifting to one of apathetic boredom, as if she had been having a pleasant discussion with Roxas instead of almost slicing his arms to pieces.

"You do know how to find some sorts of strength, after all…" With that, the Savage Nymph cast a portal into the abyss of nothingness, and vanished.

From his position lying on the ground, Roxas found the woman's words baffling at most. Strength? He had just had the living daylights beaten out of him… If that battle had shown her a sign of anything, it should've been weakness…

The last thing that he heard was the sound of Naminé calling his name before unconsciousness took him in its grip…

**-Looks like my summer vacation's…over…-**

All things considered, it was for the best, Naminé thought, that she had no heart to break.

Larxene had always seemed to have a muted ruthlessness at Oblivion, snidely commenting on the memory-witch, but never daring to act against the orders of her superior, be it Marluxia or Xemnas. Escaping had meant leaving any protection they offered. Taking Roxas with her had meant endangering him, as well.

It was mistake after mistake that had occurred to bring them into this situation. Losing sight of Zexion had effectively doomed them.

Naminé slumped to the ground, slipping a blank, expressionless face on, knowing exactly how hopelessness felt, but not quite feeling it. The fate of a Nobody was to never truly feel, after all.

Roxas' arms were covered with cuts, his blood starting to pool on the ballroom floor. It would take a miracle for him to ever be able to even lift the Keyblade again…

"Get…out…"

The Beast's growl felt more tired than before, but still held the intent to harm.

"It's not safe for…her…anymore."

Blood dripped from a cut in his torso, courtesy of the Savage Nymph's weapons of choice.

She could've taken on Belle's form to convince him, to allow them to stay in the castle for at least another day. But to Naminé a sanctuary gained by illusion at that moment was as good as giving into Marluxia's whims once more. Re-chaining memories and escaping…Even wishing him out of the sketchbook…

Everything, Naminé thought, had been a mistake. And what had resulted was Roxas, battered and cut, lying in pain on a cold marble floor.

"We'll leave," were the witch's quiet, defeated-sounding words as she left Roxas, laying still, in search of a certain Nobody's book and a potion.

**-Looks like my summer vacation's…over…-**

Zexion descended the steps leading from the Altar of Naught, where he had finished reporting to Xemnas the key components of his latest observations. He wondered what the younger Nobodies had accomplished during his absence. Surely there were other influences on their behavior and thinking besides what he had provided them in Olympus Coliseum.

The Superior, Zexion thought, was fixated only on what mattered: attaining more hearts to power the false, pale moon that hung over the skies of the World that Never Was. The job of filling in the blanks that constituted the how-tos of attaining hearts was up to the other members of the Organization.

The corridors of Darkness were mostly empty, save a few Dusks traveling to and fro, delivering messages to higher-rank Nobodies. It was an amusing sight, to see how systematic the tasks the Dusks were carrying out were becoming.

Finding where the Beast's Castle was in the many doorways and portals the Corridors of Darkness led to, Zexion concentrated, holding out the palm of his hand and feeling the energy of Betwixt and Between twist itself into a portal.

The room that he stepped into was surprisingly messy. Funny, Zexion thought. From what he had observed in his short stay, the servants usually kept the castle neat as a pin. Something must have happened to disrupt the quiet, albeit tense atmosphere.

However, from his first glance around, the Cloaked Schemer qas quickly able to deduce who had been there. The sleeve of Roxas' shirt was in ribbons; that could only mean that a certain other Nobody had chosen to pay a visit.

The heavy ballroom door swung open as Zexion peered into the hallway, noting various broken pieces of crockery and suits of armor scattered throughout it. The Heartless roaming the Castle's corridors were becoming more uncontrollable, it seemed. There weren't many other things of interest, or any individuals of importance to his plans. Zexion thought for a bit, standing in the midst of the rubble-laden floor. Where had he left that map book last?

When at last the Cloaked Schemer had located where he had dropped the heavy tome, he found nothing but bare floor and scattered sheets of paper.

**-Looks like my summer vacation's…over…-**

The last thing that Naminé had physically felt was the winds from the map book, and then a coolness that could be compared to plunging into an unknown abyss. She heard the rustling of hundreds of pages, fluttering like the broken wings of birds, and then the distant 'plunk', like a pebble falling into a pool.

As her eyes closed from exhaustion, Naminé stared at her empty hands, then at the light blue sky above that faded as she sank into the darkness. She had finally been able to do it. It was best for both of them, for her to let Roxas go. He didn't deserve to be hurt for her mistakes.

The witch's arms curled around her sketchbook before she lost consciousness.

**-Looks like my summer vacation's…over…-**

As Roxas awoke, the world was on fire.

He could feel nothing but heat from the shifting land around him as he sat up, a stranger in another world so drastically different from the calm, mysterious castle that he had passed out in. The ground as far as he could see was tinted in golds, browns, and yellows. The place that had dragged him out of slumber was a place of embers, with no Naminé in sight.

Roxas felt a sudden, unexplained sense of uneasiness in his stomach, as if someone nearby was watching him.

"Yo, you okay, kid?"

The Nobody turned, and in an instant the Keyblade was in his fingers.

"Woah, back off. My orders aren't to pick fights with random punks that show up in the middle of nowhere…"

But Roxas didn't know where the voice came from, seeing only the swirling sands of a vast expanse of desert. As he stood with a frown, the boy grouchily kicked aside an empty potion bottle before walking off into the dunes.

((And here's the cutoff for this chapter. Any guesses as to where they landed? One's probably obvious, aha. Complaints? Comments? Please review ))


	8. Discoveries

((Still chugging along with chapters here

((So. Freaking. Late. Gahhhh… ))

**-Nothingness is Eternal-**

Roxas' head was swimming with questions as he walked through the desert, disoriented and completely lost. The sky overhead was clear, but the sandy dunes in front of him stretched for miles and miles, with nothing in sight besides the orange shifting sands.

Where had the voice come from? Maybe it knew something about where Naminé had gone away to… And with the girl were answers that the boy knew he needed. There were so many things that Larxene, that Marluxia, that even Zexion had said that didn't sit well with Roxas, and stewed inside of him.

"Is there anyone out there?" He tried. No answer.

"…Hello?"

Maybe it was a mirage, but Roxas swore that he could've seen a glimpse of black amongst the orange sands.

"Are you another one of _them_?" His eyes narrowed, and the Kingdom Key appeared in his hands instantly. "I'll take you down," Roxas growled at no one in particular.

There wasn't so much as a peep from beyond the hill. He sighed, the Keyblade disappearing, and started to walk away, feeling a little silly.

"You know, as entertaining as it is to watch you talk to yourself, the nearest civilization's in the _other_ direction, kid…"

This time when Roxas turned, he saw a cloaked figure perched upon a nearby dune, watching something eastward from where they were. Inky pools of darkness emerged from the sand, and with it a group of sinister-looking Heartless that drew their scimitars and advanced.

"Think you can deal with these?" The stranger pulled back his hood, revealing red-haired man with a tattooed face, who summoned two red and silver chakrams to his sides. As Roxas cut through Heartless with his Keyblade, the other Nobody burned them alive without so much as lifting his hands, and cut through three Heartless at once with an aimed throw of the chakrams he wielded.

It was only when the sandy dunes in front were empty that Roxas caught his breath, plopped on the ground, and faced his temporary ally. Fighting in a desert had tired him out quickly, and the Keyblade dropped into the sand, disappearing.

"Oh, come on," the red-haired man's voice was mocking as he walked over. "A couple of Shadows can't do that much to you if you're fighting with one of those…" Giving a small snort of laughter, he held out a hand to shake, which Roxas backed away from.

"My name's Axel. Try to commit that to memory."

"That coat…Just like Larxene's…" Still breathing heavily from the fight, Roxas drew the Keyblade again, albeit more sluggishly than he previously had.

"Woah, woah, I don't know how you're comparing me with Larxene, especially since it's been about…" Axel paused, "a minute or so since we've met, and you're still in one piece. But small talk isn't going to make either of us last very long in this heat." He then started off in the direction of what appeared to be a small, jet colored lump of rock near the horizons.

"So you're heading to the city?" Roxas stumbled to his feet. "I think I've lost track of someone I was traveling with…"

"Well, kid, there's two things that I'd like to clear up if you've decided to follow me around." Axel turned around. "One: Agrabah, the city, is not where I'm heading off to right about now. And two: if you can't pull your own weight in trying to find whatever you're looking for, it's into the desert you go…alone."

The last word left a distinct doubt in the boy's mind that he could survive on his own for much longer. The sand was beginning to sting against his skin, and Axel, as eccentric as he seemed to be, knew the desert better than he did.

"My name's Roxas," he said. "Let's go." Somewhere at the back of his mind, he felt that there was something in the desert that he was to find. Following the lead of the taller Nobody, he began to walk, and then run with a pulse-less cadence towards a small, dark cave shaped like the mouth of a large cat in the distance as the sun began to sink.

A square of pristine white, half buried in the golden sands and wedged under a rock at the cave's entrance, caught his eye. The wind must've blown the paper there, Roxas reasoned. He flipped the page over, seeing something faint drawn on the other side.

The style was instantly familiar to him, but it was the contents of the drawing that were distinct, something that Naminé had never drawn before. In the center of the page was a Keyblade resting on a large boulder covered in childish-looking chalk drawings. Gripping the sketchbook page, Roxas felt his gaze linger at one particular scribble: A smiling, spiky-haired boy holding out a star… Something clicked in his head at that moment.

_That's a Paopu fruit, isn't it? If two people were to share one, their destinies would be intertwined… Maybe he's offering it to someone?_

"Roxas," Axel looked impatient, waving his hand in front of the boy's face. "You at home today, buddy?"

"Sorry, what?" Roxas frowned, his head still swimming with questions about the sketchbook page, and how he suddenly, almost instinctively, _knew_ the picture.

"Agrabah nights tend to get bone-chilling, and that T-shirt you're wearing isn't going to help at all." Reaching into a small portal, Axel pulled out a smaller replica of the slick, black trench-coat he wore. "Here. Zexion probably won't miss one of his coats. He keeps too many, anyways." He tossed it over to Roxas.

"Thanks."

"Tell that to Zexion when he finds out one of his coats is gone ," snorted Axel. "Anyways, he guy we're looking for near the cave won't be here until…tomorrow, I believe. And you're just the guy to help me with this job I've been assigned…"

…**Guy's a broken record…**

The first thing that Naminé saw when she faded back into consciousness was someone's hand waving in front of her face. The cold, steady feeling of water surrounded her as she found herself in a small grotto somewhere in the deep ocean. The sun shone through the waves, casting a golden light across the seaweed and sand that covered the grotto floor.

"Hey, hellooo? You okay, Naminé? That was a pretty bad tumble you took straight into the ocean…"

She recognized the upbeat-sounding voice quickly. Though the memory-witch had little knowledge of the world outside Castle Oblivion, occasionally other members of the Organization visited to make reports or discuss plans with the Castle's inhabitants. Demyx, she remembered used to take note-cards to remember what messages he had to deliver.

"Good to see you alive, then!" The older Nobody breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyways, how'd you wind up in Atlantica? I thought you'd be at Castle Oblivion, keeping watch with Marluxia and Larxene…"

Naminé drew back at the mention of the two Nobodies, but something else caught her ears. Atlantica…? She looked down, only to find scales of a pearly color where her thin legs had been, ending in a silvery-white fish's tail. Miraculously her sketchbook had remained with her through the trip through a whirlwind of pages, and was now tied with a belt of seaweed at her side. Glancing at Demyx again, she found that he had taken the form of a sea turtle the size of her head, looking just like the ones she used to read about in the picture books that Zexion would occasionally give her.

"Now, it looks like you're probably not used to swimming," Demyx noted, seeing her struggle about without legs to walk on. "Try to jack-knife through the water, and you'll move much easier. Work with the currents," He nodded, floating about slightly even when stationary.

After a few more minutes of fumbling about, Naminé finally found her balance and swam clumsily towards a rock to sit on. "Demyx?"

"Hm?" The sea turtle was examining a pattern on a nearby clam shell, prying the bivalve open with a curious expression on his face.

"Were you sent here for any particular reason?"

"Oh, no, the Superior…Well, you know how he is. He sent me to get some observations for the place… Of course, I can't really tell you the details of the job, but…" He snapped the shell shut with a fin. "I could use someone to explore with for a while. Want to tag along?" Demyx flashed a goofy-looking grin.

"Sure, that would be great," Naminé smiled, following the turtle along a current leading them to an underwater kingdom.

_Hm, it's still missing_, she thought a bit later as they rested in a colorful coral grove. _That other sketch…The one that held this particular memory… The key and what binds him._

The memory-witch wistfully traced the outline of another drawing she had done recently, a small star-shaped charm with a smiling face painted in the center. Next to it was an erased outline of another charm, crafted not of shells, but in the image of the Paopu fruit.

_No promises to come back for me…I'm just a Nobody to him. There's no princesses or heroes here._

**Nobody would miss me…That's not true, I would…**


End file.
